DraftKings NFT Reignmakers UFC: Fantasy Picks for UFC 281

UFC 281 takes place from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday, and DraftKings is launching the first Reignmakers UFC competition for this great event. To play Reignmaker’s UFC, open packs or scout, collect and bid on officially licensed UFC cards DraftKings Marketplace to build your Reignmakers UFC collection. Once you’ve assembled your team, build lineups to battle other players for prizes in fantasy sports competitions. Learn more at our Frequently Asked Questions about Reignmakers UFC page!

Saturday’s featured UFC Reignmakers contests are RMUFC – CORE – UFC 281 $50K Weigh-In and RMUFC – RARE – UFC 281 $50K Weigh-In. Contests begin at 6:00 PM ET Saturday night.

Everything you need to know about Reignmaker’s UFC ahead of UFC 281

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Weili’s opponent, Carla Esparza, is a strong wrestler and relies on her offensive wrestling. Esparza only lands about two significant punches per minute in her UFC fights, a rate nearly three times less than Weili, who lands about six significant strikes per minute. Weili should have a significant advantage in hitting in this fight and Esparza will need to succeed with her offensive game to win this fight.

This could be a tough fight for Esparza due to Weili’s physical strength. Weili is one of the strongest fighters in the women’s division. UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou recently posted a video of Weili snapping a single leg of Ngannou and lifting him off the ground, showing her incredible strength for her division.

If Esparza can’t consistently take Weili down, Weili will be in a good position to take advantage of her superior striking and knock Esparza to her feet. Esparza has absorbed more strikes than she has landed, which is a red flag in her striking calculations. Weili’s striking volume gives her good fantasy scoring upside, and she’s also a safe bet, which is reflected in her -340 moneyline at DraftKing’s Sportsbook. Since this game is five rounds, there is also potentially 10 extra minutes to generate fantasy scoring.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Several factors make Dustin Poirier an appealing fantasy play at UFC 281. Poirier is landing around 5.6 significant punches per minute, which is plus punch volume that will help in fantasy scoring. Poirier also has pop, which could result in a quick finish against opponent Michael Chandler. Chandler has a shaky chin and has officially been knocked down three times in his last three UFC fights. Chandler was also dropped by an aging Tony Ferguson in his last fight, although Chandler was able to get to his feet quickly enough to avoid it being officially classified as a knockdown in the official fight statistics.

Poirier could very realistically win this fight by first-round knockout, which could result in over 100 DraftKings fantasy points (DKFP). Poirier has scored over 100 DKFP in 13 of his last 14 wins.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Adesanya is a tall and lanky kickboxer who has had a significant range and reach advantage over most of his middleweight opponents. Adesanya uses his length to position himself just outside the opponent’s hitting area, making it difficult to land a clean shot on Adesanya. Adesanya then punishes his opponents with his superior striking from distance, and his takedown defense and defensive grappling have been good enough to fend off the grapplers he has faced at middleweight.

Adesanya has more fantasy risk than normal because Pereira poses a significant matchup problem for Adesanya. Pereira can match most of Adesanya’s advantages at middleweight. Pereira is an elite kickboxer who is huge for the division and his height, reach and punching skills are very similar to Adesanya’s. Adesanya will not be able to position himself outside of Pereira’s strike range to the extent he has enjoyed in most middleweight fights, and this is dangerous against someone as explosive as Pereira. This will probably be Adesanya’s biggest challenge to date in the middleweight division.

Adesanya has a significant advantage in UFC experience and UFC title fight experience, which could be a factor as the fight goes on. Adesanya has fought in eight five-round title fights in the UFC, something Pereira has yet to experience. Pereira only has seven MMA fights in total. Title fight experience and five-round MMA fight experience could be the difference in this fight between two fighters who are very evenly matched in terms of skill.

If Adesanya can stay safe early, let Pereira slow him down and then take over in the championship rounds, he can position himself to win late in the match using precision strikes.

Saturday is mentioned UFC Reignmakers contests are RMUFC – CORE – UFC 281 $50K Weigh-In and RMUFC – RARE – UFC 281 $50K Weigh-In. Contests begin at 6:00 PM ET Saturday night.

Get in the Octagon with us Reignmakers UFC! Open packs or scout, collect and bid on officially licensed UFC cards DraftKings Marketplace to build the ultimate collection. Once you’ve assembled your team, build lineups to battle other players for prizes in fantasy sports competitions, compete in regular collector challenges, and more!

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